Conventional beds generally include a mattress supported upon a box-spring, a wooden bed frame or both. Box-springs are generally designed to have the outward appearance of a mattress, being covered by quilted fabric and cushioning, for example. Generally, box-springs have a wooden rectangular frame supporting an array of springs to provide firm support for the mattress.
Bed frames may simply support a mattress on boards spanning between side rails of the frame, or may accommodate a box-spring. Bed frames conventionally have a headboard, a footboard and two side rails, and are constructed to be easily assembled and disassembled.
A box-spring is typically constructed in one piece and of the same dimensions as the mattress it supports. Legs may be provided with embedded threaded metal rods to be screwed into threaded inserts in the bottom of the box-spring frame, when the box-spring is used without a bed frame.
A conventional box-spring, due to its stiff wooden frame, is often heavy and awkward to handle, especially the larger “king-size” or “queen-size” variety. The dimensions of a conventional box-spring make it impractical for a consumer to transport the box-spring home from a mass-market retail store. For example, the typical box-spring does not fit in the trunk of a car. Moving such a box-spring into apartment elevators and around corners into bedrooms is often difficult and exposes the box-springs and doorways to potential damage. In addition, the dimensions of a conventional box-spring take up valuable floor space which discourages mass-market stores from offering box-springs to their retail customers.
A support for a mattress is sought that provides all of the support, comfort and aesthetic qualities of a conventional box-spring but yet that reduces the storage space requirements and shipping bulk of the support before it is used to support a mattress.